Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Iridium Communications “Hold” overall: Of eight analysts, four recommend holding, three recommend buying and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $41.20, below the reported share price of $47.47.
• Quarterly results were mixed: Iridium reported $0.09 in earnings per share, missing the $0.28 consensus estimate, while revenue of $225.24 million exceeded forecasts and increased 3.8% year over year.
• Insiders have been significant sellers: Company insiders sold 381,688 shares worth approximately $19.1 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 84.36% of the company. Iridium also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. New Street Research raised Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total transaction of $680,521.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,804,772.81. This represents a 27.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $10,507,681.26. Following the sale, the director owned 58,306 shares in the company, valued at $2,928,127.32. This trade represents a 78.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 381,688 shares of company stock worth $19,146,390 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,265,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the second quarter valued at about $13,446,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth about $2,083,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $781,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 2,810.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 39,786 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 38,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Iridium Communications stock opened at $47.47 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.01. Iridium Communications has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.18%.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

Iridium Communications Inc is a global provider of satellite-based voice and data communications. The company operates the Iridium satellite network, a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to provide coverage across the world, including oceans, airways, polar regions and other areas beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial networks.

Iridium serves commercial, government and industrial customers through a range of products and services. Its offerings include satellite phones, push-to-talk communications, two-way messaging, Internet of Things connectivity and Iridium Certus broadband services.

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